petition of the record owners of a majority of the total frontage of taxable property in such district abutting upon such streets. Whenever such petition shall request that any particular kind of pavement be put down for repaving or resurfacing any part or parts of streets in such improvement district, the mayor and council shall include such kind of pavement or material in the ordinance ordering such improvement. Whenever in any such improvement district one of the proposed improvements consists of either grading or changing the grade of the street, or streets, or both, the mayor and city council shall before the improvement is made provide for appraising, assessing and determining the damages, if any, which may be caused to any property by reason of the entire improvement contemplated and set forth in the ordinance creating the district. If the appraisers shall find that the benefits sustained by any property because of the paving or repaving, curbing or recurbing, or resurfacing or relaying the pavements within the improvement district shall exceed any damages, which may be caused by the change of grade, or grading, there shall not be awarded any damages. The proceedings for the purpose of determining the damages shall be the same as provided herein for the purpose of determining the damages to property owners by reason of grading of a street, and any such damages shall be considered as a part of the costs of the improvement and payment shall be provided for in like manner. 4303 Change of street grade.-The mayor and council may by resolution declare the necessity of a change of grade of any street or streets, or part of street or streets according to a plat and specifications prepared by the city engineer and kept on file in his office. Such resolution shall further provide that the grades on such street, streets, or part thereof, will be changed as proposed, unless sufficient owners protest against such change within fifteen days after, the publication of such resolution. Such resolution shall be published in the official newspaper for three consecutive days. The council may provide for additional notice to be served upon interested property owners or posted in a conspicuous place along such street or for notice by mail. The failure to give such additional notice shall not invalidate such proceedings. 4304 Same-protest-petition.-If the record owners of property representing fifty per cent of the taxable property abutting upon the street or streets affected by the proposed Ch. 87) Streets-Grades-Petitions 235 change of grade, file protest with the city clerk within fifteen days from the publication of the resolution, no further proceedings shall be had unless the record owners of a majority of the frontage of such taxable property shall file a petition for such change of grade. No signature to any such protest shall be considered as having any force or be valid unless actually signed by the record owner or his duly authorized agent and when signed by the agent, the authority of such agent must be attached to such protest. 4305 Change of grade of street-petition.-The mayor and council may also order a change of grade by ordinance and without the adoption and publication of a resolution, as above provided, when a petition for such change of grade has been signed by the record owners of a majority of the frontage of taxable property abutting on the street or streets, or part of said street or streets, affected by the proposed change of grade. Such petition and ordinance may include any two or more intersecting streets and in determining the sufficiency of the petition the total frontage upon all of the streets, shall be taken as a basis to determine whether or not a majority of the record owners have signed the petition. 4306 Same-cost-benefits.-The mayor and council may order any street or streets or part thereof worked or reduced to the established grade by resolution, permitting protests and petitions, or by ordinance upon a petition of the record owners of a majority of the frontage of taxable property, in the same manner as provided above for the changing of the grade of streets, and assess the cost thereof or such part of the cost thereof as the mayor and council may determine upon any property benefited thereby according to the benefits accruing by reason of such grading. No street, or part thereof, shall be graded to less than the full width or other than the established grade, except upon the petition of record owners representing a majority of the total frontage of taxable property abutting upon said street or streets, or parts thereof. Two or more intersecting streets may be improved as herein provided in one improvement proceeding, and under one proceeding to levy the special tax upon the property benefited. And in determining the sufficiency of protest or of petitions the total frontage of all the streets affected shall be taken as a basis for such determination. 4313 Vacation of streets.-The mayor and city council shall have power to vacate, open, extend, narrow, widen, curb and gutter or otherwise improve and keep in good repair or cause the same to be done in any manner they may deem proper, any street, avenue, or alley, within the limits of the city. They shall also have power to assess the cost of such improvements or for improvements made for parks and boulevards, upon the property specially benefited thereby, and to assess and collect the same as other special assessments. The cost of improvements for parks and boulevards may be assessed upon property specially benefited thereby, located within the city or within three miles of the limits thereof. If the street, avenue or alley is improved by opening, extending or widening the same, and the property to make such improvement is acquired under condemnation proceedings as provided in this chapter, the mayor and council may at any time after the appraisers' report in such condemnation proceedings, has been approved, make the assessment herein authorized. No street, alley, or avenue, or portion thereof, shall be narrowed to a width of less than sixty-six feet except on a petition of the record owners of a majority of the foot frontage of such street or portion thereof. When any street is hereafter vacated or narrowed, the portion thus vacated shall revert to the owners of the abutting property. Whenever the term street is used in this chapter, such term shall include alleys, avenues, boulevards, lanes or any other form of public roadway in the city; Provided, no street or alley shall be vacated unless a petition of the owners of seventy-five per cent of the foot frontage abutting upon the street or alley that is proposed to be vacated is filed with the city, petitioning for said vacation. 4368 Limitation on expenditure. It shall be malfeasance in office for the mayor or any councilman to vote for, or provide any expense from any such special fund or specific fund in excess of 90% of the amount of such funds, unless there be additional money in the treasury credited to any such fund by the comptroller as elsewhere provided, and the city comptroller has certified such fact to the mayor and city council. And it shall be malfeasance in office for the comptroller to issue any warrant or order for the payment of any claim or account out of any other fund than set aside for the purpose for which such claim or account is allowed or designated. No contract. of other indebtedness shall be incurred in addition to the Ch. 87) Streets-Assessments-Bonds 237 amounts above provided, for, except as herein otherwise expressly provided, in the event of the consolidation of other cities or villages with the metropolitan city and except in the event of an epidemic or of some unforeseen accident or emergency requiring immediate action and attention for the public good, which fact or facts as to the unforeseen accident or emergency epidemic, must be recited in the ordinance for such appropriation and such ordinance must be adopted by the mayor and two-thirds of all members elected to the city council. Provided further, that this limitation shall not apply when the city has entered into a contract to improve any street or streets in an improvement district and the contractor has failed to comply with his contract. In such event the mayor and city council are hereby authorized to complete the contract and for the purpose of securing money so to do, inay borrow from any fund or funds of the city to the extent that it may be necessary. But such money so borrowed shall be returned as soon as the city receives the money raised to pay for the improvement within such improvement district. 4385 Bonds-limitations.-No bonds shall hereafter be issued in any one year in excess of $250,000.00 except renewal bonds or bonds issued in exchange of other bonds for the purpose of reducing the rate of interest, district grading bonds, bonds for the funding of the floating indebtedness, district street improvement bonds, sewer bonds, intersection bonds, park bonds, bonds for the erection or purchase of a police station, special improvement bonds, bonds for the construction of a workhouse, bonds issued to pay for lands acquired upon the recommendation of the City Planning Commission for the purpose of opening, laying out, widening or enlarging any street, alley, boulevard, parkway or park, bonds for the construction and maintenance of subways or conduits, or bonds for the appropriation, purchase, construction and maintenance of gas works, water works, electric light plants or power plants or any other public untility or land therefor, or land for public parks, parkways or boulevards. No bonds except district street improvement bonds, renewal bonds, bonds in exchange for other bonds, district grading bonds, bonds for funding the floating indebtedness, special improvement bonds, bonds not exceeding One Hundred Thousand Dollars for the erection or purchase of a police station, sewer, bonds, intersection bonds, and bonds not exceeding $50,000 in any one year, issued to pay for lands acquired upon the recommendation of the City Planning Commission for the purpose of opening, laying out, widening or enlarging any street, alley, boulevard, parkway or park, shall be issued until the electors of said city shall have authorized the same by a three-fifths vote of the electors of said city, voting on said proposition at a general or special election of said city held after ten days notice published in the official paper of the city stating the maximum amount proposed to be issued and stating definitely the purpose for which they are to be issued; Provided, however, bonds to provide for the payment of any award made in any condemnation proceedings by the condemnation court in this act provided for in the condemnation of any public utility, as well as the amount which may be finally adjudged payable under any such proceedings, may be issued and sold without any vote of the people thereon. Provided, park bonds not exceeding $100,000 may be issued in any year, without a vote of the electors. Provided, further, that bonds for the construction of public comfort stations not exceeding $50,000.00 may be issued in any year without a vote of the electors. 4387 Street improvement bonds. Whenever the mayor and city council deem it expedient, they shall have power by ordinance, for the purpose of paving, repaving, or macadamizing, or in any way improving in any improvement district, the intersection or streets and spaces opposite alleys, and in front of property not subject to assessment for public improvements, and for the purpose of paying for the construction of main sewers, to issue bonds of the city to run not more than twenty years and to bear interest, payable semi-annually, at the rate of not to exceed five per cent per annum, with coupons attached, such bonds to be called "Intersection Bonds" and "Sewer Bonds" respectively, which shall not be sold for less than par, and the proceeds of which shall be used for no other purpose. The aggregate amount of such bonds issued in any one year for paying the cost of paving, repaving or macadamizing, or in any way improving in any improvement district, the intersection of streets and spaces opposite alleys and in front of property not subject to assessment for public improvements, shall not exceed the sum of one hundred thousand ($100,000.00) dollars, nor shall the aggregate amount of bonds issue to pay the cost of construction of main sewers exceed the sum of four hundred thousand ($400,000.00) dollars for the years 1917 and |